


gingerly

by moonlitcloud



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:34:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28311693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlitcloud/pseuds/moonlitcloud
Summary: Nebula and Mantis build a gingerbread house
Relationships: Mantis/Nebula (Marvel)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	gingerly

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this prompt: Person A and Person B are decorating a gingerbread house when Person A accidentally breaks a piece causing the house to collapse. Person A is really sad and afraid that Person B will be mad at them but Person B has the idea to turn it into a post-apocalyptic gingerbread house so they work together to strategically destroy it even more.  
> from love-me-a-good-prompt on Tumblr

Usually The Milano reeked of rust, sweat, and whatever bizarre space sandwich Peter Quill had left half-eaten under the seat. Today, it was different. It was Christmas Eve, and the spaceship was overflowing with the pungent aroma of ginger and sweet chocolate. Despite Nebula’s objection, a cheesy upbeat Christmas song was playing over the speakers, and Mantis was cheerfully humming along. They had spent the entire morning decorating a small gingerbread house. The roof was adorned with green and purple jelly beans, and outlined with careful snow-white icing in neat wavy lines. The house was guarded by rows of tall candy cane sticks, and sprinkles were scattered across the front lawn in a rainbow snowstorm. This was mostly Mantis’ handiwork; Nebula helped by munching on the black liquorice and staring at her girlfriend in admiration while she lined the front line with a peppermint path. She liked the way Mantis’ antennae glowed whenever she was deep in concentration, or the way she let out a squeal after finishing an area.

Mantis took a step back and observed their creation. “I think… we are missing something.” Then, her eyes landed on a chocolate pretzel across the table. “Oh! That could be the window!” She sprang up from her seata little too eagerly, knocking her knee on the table with an audible _bang_.

All of a sudden, everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Nebula and Mantis gasped as the meticulously stacked pieces of gingerbread cookies tumbled like dominoes. The icing, which were once perfect ripples, were now smushed like a stain. The walls collapsed onto one another, and the candy canes cracked in half the same way that Nebula snapped her enemies’ necks. This had become a _warzone_.

“Nooooo!” Mantis screeched. Her lower lip began to tremble, and her large black eyes became wide in worry as she looked at Nebula. “I’m so sorry, Nebula. I destroyed Christmas,” she sniffled.

Nebula took the empath’s hand with her non-cybernetic one, and rubbed it gently. “Hey. Listen to me, you didn’t destroy Christmas. I think it looks pretty cool this way, actually.” Mantis shut her eyes and took a deep breath, absorbing Nebula’s warm sensations — Nebula’s emotions felt like a fresh blanket of virgin snow under a bright sunny winter instead of the flurry blizzard that she had anticipated.

Mantis frowned, “What should we do now?”

“That’s easy. We turn this into an apocalypse,” Nebula grinned. She reached for some red icing and splattered it across the wreckage, drowning it in a sea of sweet blood. “Come on, help me. It needs to look like some serious blood was shed here.”

The empath giggled, and began smearing the icing around the pieces of gingerbread. Not before long, it covered their own bodies as if they had just fought in the gingerbread battle. “Nebula, there’s icing on your lips.”

Nebula smirked, “Oh? What are you going to do about it?”

Mantis tilted her head towards the cyborg’s lips, parting her mouth awkwardly and flicking her tongue to lick off the icing. She was gradually getting better at kissing, after all, they had tons of practice.

The blue alien usually had a disdain for the holiday season, but it was hard not to absorb Mantis’ excitement for it. One did not need to be an empath to feel the overflowing joy from her tiny body. _“_ Merry Christmas, Mantis, I love you _”_ she whispered. And she meant every word.


End file.
